It was worth the money to me. I'm glad I had the opportunity, and I would do it again. We were treated well, catered to, and it included some unique opportunities such as the Barber museum tour after hours for just us. Food was good, there was plenty of it. Schedule was good, we didn't share the track. Instructors were above top notch. My class included some "personalities" such as David Williams from OTT, Jonathan Green from WSBK (announcer), Garrett Kai and Dr. Tom from Yoshimura Suzuki and a couple other notables. You can check out the video on OTT.com, it's under the schools section. Nothing like getting passed on the front stretch at Barber by Schwantz doing a wheelie. Do it, you won't regret it.
It had better be good! $1,800.00 plus a $1,000.00 security deposit! SCHWING! Oh........ then the divorce afterward!
I have had about 70/30 feedback. 70% said it was good or very good. 30% said it was not worth the money or not for them. Some of that input depends on your instructor(s). You could hire Nick Ienatch to tutor you personally for a day for less than that. At my level I would be looking at something along those lines. Maybe two to three guys hiring Nick and/or Ken Hill to spend a weekend with us. If you want to ride Indy GP track it's the only way in short of becoming a Moto GP rider! If the Barber museum is on your to do list you can see it for free with just STT riders at our May two-day event. If someone is really interested in this I will explore the opportunity of setting up a two day event at Grattan during the week. It would be Nick Ienatch (and maybe Ken) if we can get enough takers. It won't be cheap but it'll be worth every penny. Comments...
I would be very interested in this Monte. Nick and Ken were great when they instructed at that other track :wink:
I've heard nothing but good things about the school. With that said, I brought my own bike at the time which kept costs down and made the experience all the better. I personally don't like the idea of renting a bike and then trying to improve with the thought in the back of your head that you don't want to wreck someone else's bike. I think that goes a long way in what you get out of the class. As for getting instructor help, it's just like anything else. You really need to seek out the instructors, ask questions and be active in each and every session. I still go through the notes I have from both that school and the Pridmore Star School. And I've passed some of those same notes to the STT school students as well when I've instructed.
That's too bad. The Schwantz school played a huge part in the first National Championship I won at the WERA Grand National Finals. First hand teaching from Tray Batey, Jamie James, Kevin Schwantz and the rest of the instructors. Tray drew out the track with me over dinner the first night and pointed out spots where I needed to go quicker in order to get what I was looking for. I couldn't believe he was spending that kind of time with me. Just a normal student who loaded his bike in a borrowed van and made the drive down solo just to attend the school. As with many things, the school is what you make of it. I learned a huge amount and attribute most of my riding since then to lessons I learned at that school. Of course your results varied and that's too bad.
There were probably 30-35 total I would say. That number was broken into two groups that alternated between the classroom and the track. One of the guys ran all the instruction, with Kevin jumping into several of them for specific lessons. There were 4-5 instructors on the track at all times, plus Kevin when he wasn't in the classroom. There was ample opportunity for anyone who wanted help. Some people simply didn't ask and I could see how you might not get the most out of the school that way. I was the polar opposite. I was the guy asking questions whenever I could. After all, the school isn't cheap. I wanted my money's worth. I've got great stories about both Pridmore Star School experiences as well. I've gone with other expert-level racers who left not getting anything out of it. They went in with the mentality of going as fast as they could (sort of like a trackday) and then wondered why they didn't learn anything. They didn't break their bad habits or apply anything new at a slower pace/environment. Dean Mizdal spent 10 minutes with me in between sessions detailing the physics and theories of throttle control and how it affects rear wheel grip/spin. I developed a new level of respect for him after that, and a much better understanding of throttle control and realistically lowering the fear factor associated with sliding the bike. Anyone with ego's - check them at the door. If you go in with an open mind, ready to learn (not trying to impress, and not saying the guy above was trying to do that at all - just saying) and ready to be active in getting help, it can be a great experience - especially with the level of guys they have instructing. I'd take either of the schools again without thinking twice about it. I have my notes from all the schools and review them constantly - having them with me anytime I'm at the track.
Eddie... How many students total? How many instructors total? 30 - 35 students and 6 intructors is that correct?
30-35 total. 4-5 instructors on track. 1 instructor in class. KS jumped between the two, so I'd say 7 total roughly if memory serves me correctly. On-track, each instructor had 3-5 students max I'd say. Keep in mind this was also the full two-day school I did. The second day really opened things up and tailored to what each student was looking for.
I did the Ed Bargy class in the spring of '08 at TGP then KSS in June at Road Atlanta. I thought it the perfect combination. At Bargy I got a lot of instruction and could ride my bike but for me the track time was less beneficial (not the case the second time I went with Ed) then I headed to Schwantz with the filthy suzuki's :shock: Being on someone else's bike was a major factor but I think it was also good as I had less ingrained habits. Also it was a 600 vs my RC so there was differences there also. I thought the class was interesting but the feedback from the track was FANTASTIC. Not only were the instructors available they would come and hunt you down if you did not come for feedback (I was slow getting over once). Depending on employment and if I can bring the RC I am considering taking it again at Barber this year. I am still slow but there was a massive improvement following the classes.
+20 but keep it at Grattan! I'm VERY interested, but 'wont be cheap' would need to be defined, not that it stops me from attending, just adjusts my cashflow. I vote you make a poll and see who would seriously be interested. Dont need anyone wasting time or money on track time for one or two people showing up, though that would be a massive learning experience for them haha.
I would be interested in a school with Nick and/or Ken if it was at Grattan. It would be nice to keep it relatively small so we can get personal attention, but obviously the tradeoff between cost and group size would have to be weighed. I was already thinking of signing up for their 2 day yamaha pro-school but don't like having to ride their bikes and travel all the way to Miller to do the school.
I did learn a few tidbits that was worth almost the entire value of the tuition but there are much better schools out there in the saturated "riding instruction" market yes I very much agree - you get out of the schools what you put in you also need to go into a class with an open mind there are many ways to skin a cat & different ways to explain how to as well the best school out there isnt an easy 1-20 list = it very much depends on your own personal goals are there actually any riding instruction schools not worth their weight in gold? - after all that one thing that you learn that clicks in your head could save your life someday